Arsenal W.F.C. Academy

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Arsenal W.F.C. Academy
Full nameArsenal Women Football Club Academy
Nickname(s)Hale End
Ground Vauxhall Road
Capacity3,152 (300 seated)
Academy ManagerJames Honeyman

Arsenal Women Football Club Academy (Arsenal W.F.C. Academy) is the youth academy of Arsenal Women Football Club. The academy operates for girls from 9 to 21 years old. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Arsenal Women's Academy started as a community programme in the late 1980's, when the club decided to develop a youth training scheme for 16- to 18-year-old girls who were interested in playing football. This scheme meant girls could play football full-time for two years, fully funded by a government training scheme. [3]

Arsenal's Head of Community, Freddie Hudson MBE, is still involved with the Academy setup and has helped to develop the pathway for girls in the North London communities into the current setup as it currently stands.

The academy has won three FA Girls Youth Cups in addition to other trophies lifted altogether. [2] [4] [5]

Ahead of the 2023-24 season, Arsenal were one of 16 football clubs awarded a Category 1 Professional Game Academy License (PGAs). The PGAs replaced what were then known as FA WSL Academies. [6]

Ahead of the 2025-26 season, it was announced that PGA sides would be competing in the Women's National League Cup for the first time, after the addition of those sides in the Women's National League Plate competition during the 2024-25 season. Along with this, there was the introduction of a group stage for the Cup: [7] Arsenal were drawn in group K alongside Loughborough Lightning, Northampton Town and Rugby Borough. [8]

Players

Under-21s

As of 21 August 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
44 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Sophie Harwood
46 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Lois Hazell
47 DF Flag of Ireland.svg  IRL Sophia Leonard
48 FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Phoebe De Bohan
49 DF Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  WAL Teagan Scarlett
50 FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Abi Conway
52 MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Gaby Dimmock
53 GK Flag of England.svg  ENG Amy Liddiard
56 FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Abigail Chipperfield
57 FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Freya Woods
No.Pos.NationPlayer
58 GK Flag of England.svg  ENG Chiemela Ude
59 FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Anniyah Gordon
66 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Saskia Heard
67 MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Bryony Brodie
68 MF Flag of Ireland.svg  IRL Lauren Bowe
70 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Isabella Cowley
— DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Helen "Nelly" Duncan
— FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Kyri Teer-Hutchins
— FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Leyla O'Brien

Dual registration loan

Dual registration loans allow young players to gain senior team experience at lower league clubs, usually Women's National League, whilst also being eligible for their Academy or even senior team games. [9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
43 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Niamh Peacock(at Watford until 30 June 2026)
51 MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Marcie O'Meara(at Watford until 30 June 2026)
54 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Eva Gray(at Watford until 30 June 2026)
63 GK Flag of England.svg  ENG Hope McSheffrey(at Hashtag United until 30 June 2026)

Notable players

This is a list of former Arsenal W.F.C. Academy players who have gone on to represent their country at full international level. Players who are still at Arsenal, or play at another club on loan from Arsenal, are highlighted in bold.

Updated 24 July 2025

Honours

References

  1. ↑ "Arsenal Ladies Development Team". Arsenal.com.
  2. 1 2 "FA Regional Talent Club". Arsenal.com.
  3. ↑ Wrack, Suzanne (16 June 2025). "'We took a big leap of faith': how a community project built Arsenal Women". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Academy sides win three trophies". Arsenal.com.
  5. 1 2 "Ladies win National Youth Cup - Pictures". Arsenal.com.
  6. ↑ The Football Association, FA. "FA Professional Game Academy licenses awarded to twenty clubs as part of revamped player pathway". England Football. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "FA Women's National League announces key dates and changes to promotion for 2025/26 season". womenscompetitions.thefa.com. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  8. ↑ FA, The Football Association (15 July 2025). "Fixtures".
  9. ↑ "Full Guidance: Transfers and dual registrations". Grassroots Technology. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  10. ↑ "Salzburg and Arsenal Triumph | Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup 2024". FIFA. 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  11. ↑ Arsenal Media (18 April 2024). "Arsenal Women's U21s win the PGA Southern League". Arsenal Women’s U21s win the PGA Southern League. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  12. ↑ "Arsenal Women U21s secure league title". Arsenal.com. 23 April 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  13. ↑ Ward, Kian (15 May 2025). "IN PHOTOS | Dulwich Hamlet vs Arsenal | Capital Women's Cup". Dulwich Hamlet Football Club. Retrieved 22 May 2025.

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